The mysterious, often-oblique and always entertaining Tunic was known by a different name during its six year-plus development: Secret Legend. The game’s lead, Andrew Shouldice, has been pretty candid about why; the game is about the appeal of the unknown, about the lure of secrets, about the attraction to things just out of sight.
Modern games use the term ‘secret’ lightly; whether you’re collecting ravens in God of War or hunting down skulls in Halo Infinite, the ‘secrets’ you’re after are usually clearly telegraphed. You’re led to them. It’s good game design, making you think you got there on your own, but you’re very often baited and drawn in by an unseen hand.
Tunic isn’t quite like that. Whether you’re sniffing around those golden chimes at the old house – wondering why they pop so much in the middle of the green around it – or making your way to the game’s very last uber-mysterious location, Tunic does secrets differently. And rightly so; it was named for them, at one point.
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